Saturday, May 31, 2014

Not long ago I was coming home and noticed a beautiful wooden door on the side of the street, so I hauled it up 3 flights of stairs to my house. I live on a stair street, not a regular car street. I wasn't quite sure what to do with the door, but I knew that it had great potential. After a few weeks of trying to figure it out, I finally came up with this outdoor shelf for my starter plants. You could just as easily use this inside your home for books or bric-a-brac. The best thing about this project is that it was practically free. I aged the door even more with Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paints and Crème Wax in Golden Brown. Next time you see a door on the street, bring it home!

1. Paint large patches of Lace and Heritage all over the door and shelves.Don’t worry about being neat or creating a pattern, just go crazy and be random.Leave some of the original color of the door showing if you like the original color.If not, cover everything with the large patches of paint.

2. Rub wax over the details of the door and over the patches you just painted.

3. Paint over the entire door in Delicate and let dry for 30 minutes.

4. Sand the door with a sanding block to reveal the areas where you applied the wax. The base colors will start to show through and the door will start to look more aged.

5. Hit and scratch the door with a hammer to age it some more.

6. Paint the creme wax over the door and then rub it off with a cloth.

* This will highlight the scratches and dents and give it more character.

7. Screw your "L" brackets to each of the shelves (2 each should be fine).

Thursday, May 29, 2014

It's time for my weekly Thurs-DIY update! See what my amazing friends have been up to this past week and make sure to pop in and send them a big hello from me, OK. Now load up that glue gun and get going.......Happy Thurs-DIY!

Saturday, May 24, 2014

I love the look of painted, aged and weathered wood and thought it might be fun to try to get the same effect on wood bangles. It was easier than I thought and I have to say, I had a blast making these! As you can see, I made 5 of them and I still wanted to paint more. This is a terrific technique for furniture, too. I used Americana Decor Chalky Finish paints (beautiful colors, BTW) and regular household wax. You could even use a candle if you wanted. Have fun!

Thursday, May 22, 2014

My favorite day of the week is here........THURS-DIY........The day I get to share what my creative friends have been up to all week long. Just like me, they toil away creating something new to share with you so that you can discover new ways to decorate, accessorize and spend some quality time. Hop around and say hello to the gang, OK!

Cathie Filian makes a beautiful statement necklace that looks good enough to eat! She always makes such terrific color choices and gets it just right. Talent in spades, this girl has! http://youtu.be/aBhcj7aR9FI

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

A few weeks ago I started experimenting with Rit Liquid Dye and now I'm completely hooked! I've dyed everything in my house that can possibly be dyed and I'm still looking for more. This week I tackled some lampshades for my patio chandelier. I know! Doesn't everyone have a chandelier on their patio? It couldn't have been easier, too. Another thing I learned is that you can paint lace metallic gold with DecoArt's Dazzling Metallics and it looks amazing. Make sure to use the E-6000 Fabri-Fuse to glue on the lace because hot glue will melt if it's too close to the lightbulbs. Check out the video tutorial below and leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

About Me

Thank's for stopping by! Every day I strive to make the world a better place through creativity. I'm a Designer, TV Host and Best-Selling Author. I write THE BIG-ASS CRAFT BOOK series (Simon & Schuster) which are the best selling craft books in the US. I've worked in television for over 12 years on shows like While You Were Out-TLC, 10 YearsYounger-TLC, She's Moving In-WEtv, My Celebrity Home-Style, Tony Danza-ABC, My Home 2.0-FOX, and currently Make Your Mark! for PBS/APT. I am a Creative Consultant for DecoArt and a Creative Director for Eclectic Products, makers of E-6000. You can see me weekly on YouTube and can always reach me at MarkMontanoNYC@aol.com. I'd love to hear from you!